Falcons ready for GMCT showdown with Monroe
BY SHAWN LAYTON
Staff Writer

METUCHEN - Senior Matt Owens tossed a four-hit, complete game shutout against No. 21 Perth Amboy as the No. 5 St. Joseph High School baseball team advanced to the Greater Middlesex Conference Tournament quarterfinals to square off against No. 4 Monroe today at 3:45 p.m. at Sondek Park in South Brunswick.

The win marked the third time this season the Falcons defeated Perth Amboy. Owens was sensational in the affair, striking out nine without issuing a walk as the Falcons improved to 14-10 on the year.

"He's a power pitcher, so you know he'll get his strikeouts, but to walk nobody shows you how sharp he was," St. Joe's coach, Lou Urbano, said. "He's had a bad ankle since the Stevens game and he twisted it again in the Perth Amboy game. We're hoping he's OK to go in the quarterfinals."

Owens and the rest of the Falcons enjoyed an offensive power surge that couldn't have come at a better time.

"We've struggled a bit offensively this season so it was nice to get some big hits in the opening round," Urbano said. "Juniors Nick Ciardiello and Ed Brown have done the job all year and they did it once again."

Ciardiello and Brown both went yard with Ciardiello smacking a pair of long-balls.

"Nick is hitting close to .500 and he continues to hit the ball hard," Urbano said. "Eddie Brown has been great in the leadoff spot. He hit one from the leadoff spot in this game and he's currently second on the team in RBIs. Both of them have carried us all year. We only had eight hits in this game and the two of them had half of those eight."

Sophomore Brian Koster came off the bench to belt a pinch-hit home run, the first of his varsity career.

"Even though we played Perth Amboy twice and beat them both times, we knew we couldn't underestimate them," Urbano said. "They beat South Brunswick this season and our game with them was a lot closer than the 8-0 score indicated."

Today's game against No. 4 Monroe should be a thriller. Monroe comes out of the GMC White Division to stake its claim in the quarterfinal round loaded with Red Division teams. Of the eight teams still left in the tournament, five hail from the GMC Red.

"Monroe has good pitching and they hit the ball really well," Urbano said. "They have one of the top players in the state [Rutgers-bound Jared Jimenez], and we'll see if we can keep him off the bases."

In addition to the GMCT win, St. Joe's notched an impressive out-of-conference win over Montgomery by a 6-2 score. Kevin Poll tossed a complete game and improved his record to 5-0 on the year.

"Kevin's been solid for us all season," Urbano said. "If Matty Owens is unable to go against Monroe, Kevin will get the start."

The winner of today's game will advance to the GMCT semifinal round to be played Saturday at Middlesex County College.